Blackhawks vs. Lightning Game 1 Schedule and Guide for Stanley Cup Final 2015

Unlike their counterparts in the NBA, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning have little time to sit back and bask in their respective conference final glory. The puck drops Wednesday for Game 1 of the 2015 Stanley Final at 8 p.m. ET.  

Neither team had it easy in the last round, with the Blackhawks taking out the Ducks in seven games, while the Lightning needed seven themselves to send the New York Rangers packing.

Here's a brief look ahead to what should be a great series.

Game 1 Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Home	Away	TV Info	Live Stream	Odds
Wed., June 3	8 p.m.	Tampa Bay Lightning	Chicago Blackhawks	NBC	NBC Sports Live Extra	TB (-1.5)

Stanley Cup Guide

From a neutral's perspective, watching a championship game or series where one team is clearly superior to the other isn't a lot of fun. Fans want to see a long, competitive and drawn-out affair that pits two relatively close sides against one another.

Looking at this year's Stanley Cup Final, you get the sense that the Blackhawks and the Lightning are going to need six, maybe seven games to determine a winner—that's the competitive gap between them.

Here's a look at both teams by the numbers, courtesy of NHL.com:

	G/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	SAT	USAT
Blackhawks	2.68 (17th)	2.27 (2nd)	17.6 (20th)	83.4 (10th)	543 (2nd)	291 (6th)
Lightning	3.16 (1st)	2.51 (12th)	18.8 (14th)	83.7 (9th)	412 (5th)	317 (4th)

	G/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	SAT	USAT
Blackhawks	3.29 (3rd)	2.94 (12th)	19.6 (7th)	75.5 (11th)	52 (5th)	-33 (14th)
Lightning	2.75 (4th)	2.45 (8th)	22.2 (5th)	81.2 (8th)	-31 (13th)	-16 (11th)

Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star argues that the styles of Chicago and Tampa Bay lend themselves to an aesthetically pleasing series as well:

"

But as the 2015 Stanley Cup final begins this week, it is a hopeful sight. The Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning are built along similar lines, though they are at different points of their evolution. They aren't big, aren't bruisers, aren't defined by the grind. They are both elite puck-possession teams — Chicago was second in shot attempts percentage, or Corsi, at 5-on-5 this season, Tampa fifth — but not with Kings-like muscle. Their core is fast, skilled, dangerous, bold. They’re invested, for the most part, in the better angels of the game. They’re fun.

"

In a sense, the Lightning are also going up against their very own "looper."

During the 2009-10 season, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane—22 and 21 years old, respectively—were spearheading a dynamic group of attacking players. Kris Versteeg, Troy Brouwer and Andrew Ladd—all of whom were 24 or younger—provided support, combining for 122 points during the regular season.

Fast forward to the present, where Tampa Bay is built around Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, none of whom is older than 25. Of course, the salary cap will come into play at some point, but you could easily see the Lightning becoming the next "it" team in the NHL.

The Lightning will have to go through the current Blackhawks to become the new Blackhawks.

One area Tampa Bay will look to exploit is Chicago's possibly gassed blueliners. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has relied heavily on Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya. Keith, Hjalmarsson and Seabrook occupy three of the top four spots in terms of most ice time during the postseason. Oduya is seventh, per NHL.com.

The numbers are even more impressive when you consider how the Ducks ramped up the physicality against Chicago in the Western Conference Final. Ducks center Ryan Kesler was almost speechless with regard to how the Blackhawks' stars continued fighting until they clinched the series, per Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:

"I think that you get used to it," said former defenseman Derian Hatcher, per the Canadian Press (via the CBC). "I think when you're used to it and when you're conditioned to it, it's not a big deal at all. You kind of expect it."

"He's kind of a freak as far as his metabolism and conditioning level," Quenneville said of Keith, who's on pace to set the record for highest average ice time in a single postseason. "Just certain guys genetically, aerobically, anaerobically, they can sustain it."

Getting a few days of rest will certainly help the Blackhawks recuperate, but they need an entire offseason to fully get back to 100 percent.

Their blue line's stamina will be tested in a big way against the Lightning's "Triplets," who have combined for a shade over half of their team's goal total in the playoffs, per ESPN Stats & Info:

If Chicago can win the Stanley Cup, then it would arguably be the Blackhawks' most impressive title win since their minidynasty began.

On the other hand, a victory for the Lightning might mean that the balance of power shifts from the Midwest to the Southeast of the United States. You never want to assume a team will get back to the Stanley Cup Final, but Tampa Bay could be on the verge of creating something special.

Note: Game 1 odds are courtesy of Odds Shark.